December In Numbers

Clockwise from upper left - (1) Christmas Eve antics at Indiantown Marina with Charlie, Matt, Jessica, Jane, Bruce & Michele; (2) Santa Claus, Florida cowboy style; (3) Our dodgy honeymoon hotel in Paris; (4) A little reminder of the Bahamas, Goombay Punch in a can; and (5) Christmas Day picnic at Hobe Sound beach.

It's hard to believe December had come and gone and that it is now 2016 already!

It was a crazy month at Indiantown Marina. There are tons of folks here right now getting their boats ready to go cruising so there's been a lot of socializing going on. I think Canadians have been outnumbering Americans for the past month, and a fair few of them are French Canadians, so it's kind of fun to hear people chattering away in French all around you. From time to time I try practicing my French on some of them, but it always ends up with everyone looking confused and we quickly switch to English.

Here's the usual recap of last month in numbers and in English:

• 24 - The number of years Scott and I have been married. This was the first year that we haven't been together on our anniversary. Scott celebrated by going into Glasgow for a curry, while I celebrated with eggnog spiked with Frangelico. While Frangelico makes almost anything better, it really didn't help with the fact that we were apart this year.
• 2.5 - The approximate number of miles my friend Jane and I have been walking most mornings. After being a complete and utter slug for months on end, because let's face it summer in southern Florida was just way too hot to do much of anything outside, I've finally started to get a bit more active last month. 2.5 miles isn't a lot, but it's a start. And it helped counteract the eggnog I had over the holidays. 
• 900+ - The number of calories in a 3-piece chicken strip meal at Dairy Queen. Between that and the eggnog, I'm sure you can see why I've started walking.
• $5 - The cost of a 3-piece chicken strip meal at Dairy Queen in Okechobee. It comes with fries, drink and a hot fudge sundae. It's such a good deal, how can you say no, despite all the calories? At least, that's how I rationalize it to myself. 
• 18 - The number of hours Auckland, New Zealand is ahead of Florida. It took all of my brain power to try to figure out what time I needed to call from Florida to get a hold of someone in New Zealand to sort out a tax issue. The good news is that I didn't owe any money.
• $10 - How much 1GB of cellular data costs on my AT&T Go Phone Plan. Things have gotten so crowded at Indiantown Marina lately that it is pretty much impossible to get WiFi from the marina. I've started to get more active on Instagram lately and all of those pretty pictures uses a ton of data. So, I've ended up having to buy extra data to feed my internet addiction.
• 37 - The number of mosquito bites I got on Christmas Eve. The marina hosted a turkey lunch with all the trimmings and we were all having so much fun that we hung around well past sunset when the mosquitoes come out to play. Usually, when the sun sets, everyone hurries back to their boats or RVs and hides inside until morning. But on Christmas Eve, everyone ate well. The humans feasted on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and the mosquitoes feasted on the humans' blood. 
• 24 - The number of miles from Indiantown to Hobe Sound beach. I went there with some friends on Christmas Day for a picnic lunch. After all the "fun" we had on Christmas Eve (and "fun" is a code word for overindulged), it was nice to laze about on the beach and people watch. Scott and I used to go for Christmas Day picnics on the beach in New Zealand, so it was a bit sad to think of him stuck in cold, dark Scotland while we were in hot and sunny Florida.
• 1 - The number of Dunkin' Donuts snickerdoodle lattes I had. Doug Treff - thanks for suggesting I get one. It was utterly scrumptious!

We hope you had a wonderful end to the year during December and wish you health, happiness and joy during the New Year.

In case you missed them, here are some of our favorite posts from December:

Boat Tipping | Okeechobee Waterway
The Stench of Failure | NaNoWriMo Update
Nancy Drew is a Total Slacker & Other Random Nonsense

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